A look at Celtic’s possible road to the Champions League

Next month Celtic will begin the mundane process for group stage qualification to the Champions League. With a new man in charge, the Hoops are hoping to make it third-time lucky this time around, after two successive defeats in the play-off round.

However, Brendan Rodgers does have a huge task getting the side into the Champions League, and there are some tricky ties if Brendan Bhoys come across these sides during qualification.

As Celtic won the Scottish Premiership, they enter round two and will play via the Champions route.

The Champions route is key because Celtic will avoid the likes of Manchester City, Porto, Roma and many others in the play-off round should they reach this stage. Another important aspect is that Celtic’s coefficient allows them to be seeded in every round, meaning that they would miss out in ties against teams like Olympiacos, Salzburg and Apoel.

Usually, round two is a stroll in the park. Last season, the Hoops played Icelandic side Stjarnan and eased to a 6-1 aggregate scoreline. This upcoming campaign, they should be able to dispatch of any of the opponents, whether it would be The New Saints, the Crusaders or Dundalk who are the three easiest ties for Celtic at this stage. The most difficult would easily be the Swedish champions Norrkoping.

The draw for the first and second round will take place on June 20th and the two-legged ties will take place on July 12th or 13th and July 19th or 20th.

However, once the Hoops reach the third round, that’s where things begin to become tricky.

In the last two seasons, Celtic have scraped past Qarabag and let’s not forget the fiasco of Legia Warsaw. If Celtic get the luck of the draw, they could find themselves in good stead heading into the play-offs.

However, travelling long distances can be a nightmare for Celtic. Last season this was evident when the Hoops faced the long journey to Azerbaijan and sneaked through courtesy of a first-leg goal by Dedryck Boyata.

Provided Celtic reach this stage, they could come up against Qarabag for a second consecutive season, Serbian side Red Star Belgrade, FC Astana from Kazakhstan, Norwegian side Rosenberg and Romanian side Astra Giurgiu.

The draw for the third round will take place on July 15th and the two-legged ties will be played on July 26th or 27th and August 2nd or 3rd.

If Celtic progress to the third round and into the play-offs, then they will be guaranteed European football until Christmas, whether it’s the Champions League or the Europa League. However, it’s key not only for the fans but for the continued progression of the club that Celtic qualify for the Champions League. No Champions League football has really hurt the side and the overall progress of the club in recent years.

Last season, Celtic fell to a 4-3 aggregate defeat to Swedish side Malmo after another horrible European away day. This has to change sooner than later because it really does affect the club if we can’t do the business away from home.

Regardless of what happened last campaign, the sides who Celtic could face in the play-off round are by far better equipped than the sides in last season’s play-offs.

The sides who they could face, provided they advance to this stage are, Legia Warsaw, Dinamo Zagreb, BATE Borisov, Ludogorets and FC Copenhagen. All decent opponents and all have their dangerous players.

The draw for the play-offs will take place on August 5th, and the two-legged ties will take place on August 16th or 17th and August 23rd or 24th.

In the interest of a lot of people, a tie against Legia Warsaw would signal unfinished business for both sides if they faced each other. Dinamo Zagreb are no pushovers either, however, a slight advantage could be that ex-Zagreb player, Jozo Simunovic, will have an insight into his former team’s strategy.

As for both BATE and Ludogorets, they have played in the Champions League in the past few seasons and will be dangerous sides should the Hoops come up against the two. And finally, FC Copenhagen will offer maybe the easier of the five ties should Celtic reach the play-offs. They haven’t featured as much as they should European football but will still provide a stern test for Rodgers’ side.

In a nutshell, as much as it’s important to do the bread & butter and dominate domestically, the key area of improvement for the club must be the ambition to play in Europe’s elite competition. If they fail to do so, they will only continue to fall behind the rest of Europe’s sides who have a similar stature to Celtic. Only time will tell if the Hoops do qualify for the Champions League and the journey will no doubt be filled with highs and lows along the way.